The American consumer expects to do some more spending

The American consumer is feeling more optimistic than in recent months, but less so than earlier this year.

One of the questions on the New York Fed's monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations asks respondents how they expect their household spending to change over the next year. This has been a very jumpy indicator in 2015, seesawing back and forth before dropping over the summer and hitting a new low in September.

In October this indicator appears to have slightly ticked up, with the median household expecting spending to increase by 3.47%, up from the September low of 3.18% and just a tick above the July and August expectations of 3.46%. However, the new October number is still well below survey results from earlier this year and in 2013 and 2014.

Consumers are a huge part of the American economy, with household consumption making up about 69% of GDP. The decisions consumers make about spending have a huge impact on the overall economy.